


Merry Christmas, Shaun Hastings

by SenatusConsultum (TheSenator)



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: Animus Team, Christmas, Christmas traditions, F/F, Fluff, Gen, Mistletoe, Shaun Hastings Sass, Teasing Shaun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-02
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-06 19:20:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5427641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSenator/pseuds/SenatusConsultum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shaun is relucant to get into the Christmas spirit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bah Humbug

**Author's Note:**

> I had a few ideas about what I wanted to do for a Christmas story with Shaun, so my goal is to do a few vignettes and post them in a serial format, because Charles Dickens. This is going to be fluffy and cheesy and all those other things you’d expect from a Christmas story.

“Absolutely  _not_ ,” Shaun spat. He stood with his arms crossed, red-faced and exasperated. “You are not putting that—that  _stuff_ —anywhere near my workspace. I need a clean, clutter-free environment to focus properly. No twinkle lights, no tiny novelty stockings with my name on, and  _definitely_  none of  _that._ ” He pointed accusingly at the sprig in her hand.

“Lighten up Shaun, it’s just mistletoe,” [Y/N] responded. “Everyone else is getting into the holiday spirit. Look, Rebecca has put twinkle lights on Baby!”

Shaun huffed. “If Rebecca wants to decorate her workspace with a fire hazard, that’s her choice. I wish Desmond the best of luck with his next Animus session—”

“Hey!” Rebecca protested.

“—but I want my desk to remain empty. I will decorate it myself later on if I decide I can handle the distraction.”

“Oh, alright,” she conceded. She put the bundle of mistletoe on a filing cabinet and pointed at him. “But mark my words, Hastings: I’ll put you in the holiday spirit yet. You’ll be singing carols and wearing ugly sweaters in no time!” She cackled and bounded into the kitchen; Shaun watched her with a confused—and slightly fearful—look on his face.

“Shit, Shaun,” Desmond remarked. “I bet if you just let her hang the mistletoe, she’ll leave you alone. What’s the big deal? Afraid of having to kiss her? Are you out of practice, or are you just  _that_ bad at it?”

“I happen to be a  _fine_  kisser, thank you,” he scoffed. “I just don’t want a repeat of the year that Rebecca pelted me with fake snow and it got stuck in my keyboard. It took hours to pick out those pieces between the cracks in the keys. I had to use tweezers.”

“And I had to listen to him gripe the whole time,” Rebecca chimed in.

“ _Besides_ ,” Shaun continued, pretending not to hear Rebecca. “It’s only December 2nd. Why does it need to look like Santa, his elves, and all the reindeer exploded in here?”

“Because it’s  _fun_ ,” Rebecca said. “Don’t be such a Grinch, Shaun.” She nodded toward the kitchen. “Come on. I think she’s making cookies.”

“I’m there!” Desmond pulled on a bright red Santa hat and sauntered out of the room.

Rebecca looked at Shaun. “You coming?”

“In a minute. Save some cookie dough for me?”

“No promises. You know Desmond’s a huge sweet tooth.”

Rebecca followed Desmond, leaving Shaun alone next to his desk. He glanced at the mistletoe on the filing cabinet and picked it up, holding it gently in his hand as he sat down onto his stool. He chuckled; as annoyingly chipper as [Y/N] was, Shaun had to admit that he admired her efforts to cheer them up and make them forget their dire situation.

Even if her way of cheering him up was apparently trying to con him into kissing her.

Shaun opened a desk drawer and pulled out a snow globe with a tiny model of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament inside. He placed it on his desk, next to the monitor, and gazed wistfully as the “snow” fell on London.

“Hey Shaun, hurry up! Desmond has eaten almost all of the cookie dough!” he heard Rebecca call from the kitchen.

“Yeah,” [Y/N] yelled. “Get in here if you want to lick my spoon!” He heard her and Rebecca burst into giggles.

Shaun rolled his eyes and rose from his seat. He made it halfway to the kitchen before he remembered he was still holding the mistletoe. He turned back to his desk and sat it next to the snow globe. His lips quirked into a small smile as he noticed how nice it looked there, and he stared at it for a moment.

“Shaun!” She called again after him. He looked up and saw her standing in the doorway, holding a wooden spoon that was covered in dense, sugary dough.

“I’ll be right there.” His smile broadened—just a little—and he walked to her, taking the spoon out of her hand as he joined them in the kitchen.


	2. Twinkle Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rebecca tricks you and Shaun into working together, and he warms up to you. A little.

Before she knew it, December was half-over. Shaun had barely budged from his desk, opting out of hanging stockings and making ornaments with the rest of the team. Still, he’d helped them bake cookies and seemed to have fun, so she remained hopeful that she’d be able to persuade him to help decorate the tree and sing Christmas songs.

She hadn’t mentioned the mistletoe since that first day, mostly because she hadn’t been able to find the mistletoe she’d put down on the filing cabinet. But it was bound to turn up somewhere, and Shaun had been warming up to her—well, he hadn’t been as snippy with her, at least—so she held out hope for a Shaun-related Christmas miracle.

And even if it didn’t end up happening,  _well_ , it was always fun to tease him every once in a while. She gazed absently in Shaun’s direction, watching him work and fighting the urge to muss his hair when Rebecca sidled up to her and nudged her in the ribs.

“Whatcha thinking about?” Rebecca asked with a smirk.

“Nothing,” she demurred unconvincingly.

“Uh-huh. Well, Desmond and I found a tree. Come check it out!”

She followed Rebecca to the common area of the safehouse, where Desmond was securing a short, fluffy tree into a tree stand behind the couch.

“It’s perfect! Great find, you guys,” she cooed as she hurried to help Desmond. They added some water to the stand and stood back to admire it.

“What do you think, Shaun?” she asked.

“Hmmm?” Shaun mumbled from his desk. He didn’t turn around.

“The  _tree_ ,” she bit. “What do you think?”

Shaun’s shoulders rose and fell as he let out an exaggerated sigh and turned around. “Well, it’s nice, I suppose. But it’s a bit bare, isn’t it?”

“Yup,” Rebecca broke in, “and you’re going to help us decorate it.”

Shaun raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

“Only if you want more holiday cookies,” Rebecca said with a wicked grin. “We could really use your help with the lights.” She nodded toward a large ball of wires and tiny light bulbs on the floor.

“Fine,” Shaun huffed. He moved toward the bundle of lights and picked it up.

“You’re going to help?” [Y/N] asked, trying to hold back a smirk.

“Yes. But only because it probably would take until Christmas for you to do this by yourself,” he sniffed.

“I can start at one end, and we can meet somewhere in the middle,” she offered.

“Well, it looks like the two of you have everything taken care of,” Rebecca said quickly. “Desmond and I have some work to do, but we definitely want to help put the ornaments on!”

[Y/N] looked at Rebecca, who gave her a sneaky, devious smile before dragging Desmond away.

She and Shaun stood awkwardly in the room, the tangled jumble of lights hanging between them. Shaun cleared his throat. “Right, well, I guess we should get started…”

He tossed the lights onto the couch and sat next to it; she followed, sitting onto the other side and looking at the pile between them. They both reached for it, digging in as they tried to find their respective starting points. She found one end, buried deep within the tangle, but she couldn’t quite reach it.

“Can you get this? My fingers are too short. Here, I can hold the wires apart…” She pried the wires open as much as she could.

Shaun slid a finger into the space she made for him. His brows furrowed in concentration as he poked around for the plug. She watched him intently.

“Got it!” He pulled the plug out from between the wires, hooked around his finger.

“Nice! Now for the other end…”

She turned the bundle over and the opposite end fell easily out. With both of them holding onto one end of the bundle, they got to work untangling the mass of twinkle lights.

“Did you know,” Shaun began, “that Prince Albert brought the tradition of decorating Christmas trees to England?”

“Really?” she asked with genuine interest. Shaun’s usual surliness melted away, and he leaned forward to continue.

“Yeah—a lot of Christmas traditions became popular in Victorian England. Tree decorating, Christmas caroling. Even Christmas cards.” Shaun’s fingers wove the plug in and out of the bundle as he rattled off facts.

“I’ve always been terrible at sending Christmas cards,” she admitted as she untied a complicated knot. “And I’ve only been caroling once, when I was a kid.”

“We went caroling every year until I was 15 or so,” Shaun said, a wistful smile creeping across his face. “The early teenage years were a little awkward, but overall, they’re some of my favorite memories. My dad and I would spend hours researching really old carols to add to our repertoire. Hardly anyone recognized them, but we didn’t care.”

She smiled as she untied a huge knot. “What else did you do?”

“Well…” he thought for a moment, looping the socket over, and then under, another wire. “I was always one of the Three Wise Men in the school nativity play. My mum assured me it was because I was so smart, but I was pretty sure it’s because I wore glasses.”

She smiled. “I can top that—I was Mary one year.”

“Oh, you must have been a  _very_  good girl, then,” he teased.

“Someone must have thought so. But I showed them—I tripped on my costume and fell onto Baby Jesus during a performance. From then on, I was relegated to the back of the Angel Choir.” She laughed, and Shaun chuckled along with her. His gaze lingered on her for a moment before he looked down at the lights.

“Look at that—we’re almost finished,” he said, sounding impressed.

“Oh, yeah! Then we can put them on the tree.”

“You mean,  _Desmond and Rebecca_  can put them on the tree,” Shaun countered with a grin.

She smirked. “Even better.”

They untwisted and untangled the remaining few knots, their fingers brushing as they met in the middle of the strand. She looked up at him quickly and moved her hands away, trying to stop the warmth that was creeping into her cheeks.

“Thanks for the help, Shaun. It would have taken hours without you.”

“Sure…” They sat silently for a moment. “I should probably go check my email, make sure I haven’t missed anything important. It was a nice break, though. So thanks for that.”

“Anytime. I’ll get the others so they can start stringing the lights. I’ll call you when we put ornaments on though, if you want…” she trailed off.

“Yeah,” Shaun half-smiled. “Absolutely.”

They stood up at the same time, abruptly and awkwardly; she laughed nervously and scurried past him to find the others. She cast a glance toward his desk as she walked by, and something caught her eye. She slowed enough to notice a snow globe and… mistletoe?

She grinned as she moved on. Maybe her hope wasn’t completely misplaced after all.


	3. Traditions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team watches movies and shares Christmas memories.

_“Teacher said, ‘Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings!”_ Little Zuzu Bailey’s voice rang out from the TV.

[Y/N] stirred in her seat as the cast of _It’s a Wonderful Life_ began singing “Auld Lang Syne.” The team had taken turns choosing their favorite Christmas movies and watching them together over the past few days. Tonight had been Desmond’s choice. They’d covered the coffee table with plates of cookies, candy canes, and bowls of popcorn to share and piled onto the couch in their pajamas.

Rebecca had, once again, arranged the seating so [Y/N] and Shaun were next to each other. As a result, [Y/N] had spent most of the movie watching him out of the corner of her eye, hyper-aware of every move that he made. About halfway through the film, she shifted her position, and her feet pressed gently against his thigh through her blanket. He glanced at her, but he didn’t complain or ask her to move, so she stayed put for the rest of the movie.  

Now, with the movie over, Shaun began to stir and stretch. Desmond caught the movement out if the corner of his eye and turned to them.

“What did you think?” he asked her. “I can’t believe you hadn’t seen this before.”

She smiled. “It was good! I wish I’d seen it sooner. _White Christmas_ was my favorite holiday movie growing up, so my family usually watched that instead.”

“Oh yeah? What else did you do during the holidays?” he pressed.

“My mom and I would bake a lot—we had special desserts we only made during Christmas, and we'd give them to people as gifts. And we always had Christmas dinner with my cousins and grandparents.”

“We had huge holiday dinners in my family,” Rebecca chimed in. “But it was never at someone’s house—my family would rent a huge cabin in Colorado every year. I always went skiing or snowboarding on Christmas Day. My brothers and I would race, and whoever lost had to clean up after dinner.”

[Y/N] smiled. “Nice. That sounds like a lot of fun. What about you, Des?”

Desmond gave her a wry smile. “Christmas was never very big in my family. We watched a couple of movies, and my dad would give me some time off of training. But that’s all. Oh, and my mom would always slip me candy canes when I passed through the kitchen. That was nice—sort of our little secret.

“After I left home, I’d meet up with friends every year. There were always a few of us who had no family, so we’d get together for lunch. I can make a mean egg nog—after your second glass, you’ll swear you’ve seen a reindeer fly.” He winked, and she laughed.

“What about you, Shaun?” Rebecca asked. “Any good Christmas memories?”

“When I was at university,” he began, “my flatmate would throw these huge parties. People would bring food and drinks, and silly gifts to exchange. One of my favorite memories was the year his girlfriend got the crown in her Christmas cracker. She bossed him around for a week—our flat had never been so tidy.”

She raised an eyebrow in surprise. She supposed it wasn’t _too_ odd that Shaun hadn’t told everyone else about his childhood memories—he was a fairly private person behind that ego—but she did wonder why he’d opened up to her. She thought back to the snow globe tucked away on his desk with her mistletoe.

“Why don’t we start our own traditions?” Rebecca suggested. “We’re practically family, living like this, and it’s been fun watching movies and making cookies.”

“Ooo, yeah,” [Y/N] agreed. “Maybe we could plan a Christmas dinner? Nothing huge, just a more festive family night. Desmond can make his egg nog. What do you think, guys?”

Desmond grinned. “Sounds like fun.”

“I have a feeling that you won’t take ‘No’ for an answer,” Shaun said wryly. He smirked at her, an eyebrow raised as he glanced at her over his glasses.

“Aw, Shaun, you know me so well,” she cooed sweetly. She was grinning, flustered by the look Shaun had given her.

Rebecca rolled her eyes and chuckled. “All right,” she said, “Make a list of what you want to eat, and [Y/N] and I will put together a menu and get what we need on our supply run tomorrow.”

“Great!” [Y/N] replied. “So what’s up next?”

Desmond picked up the next DVD. “Looks like _Elf_.” He popped the disc into the player as they all settled back into their spots. Shaun lightly rested his arm on her legs and she smiled, nestling closer to him as the opening credits rolled.


	4. Twas the Night Before Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas Dinner takes an unexpected turn.

“Is that everything?” Desmond asked. He had finished putting the plates and bowls away.

“Yeah, thanks!” [Y/N] answered. “I can never reach those top shelves. My hero!”

He laughed. “Happy to help. Dinner was great.”

She beamed. Dinner _had_ been pretty fantastic. They had made turkey, potatoes, green beans, and dressing, and she had baked more cookies and some brownies for dessert. Desmond had made his eggnog the night before, and after one sip, she realized why it had the reputation it did.

On the supply run, she’d picked up a kit containing empty Christmas crackers and traditional treats—hats, small toys, and candy. She handed them over to Shaun, who filled them up and handed them out at dinner. They opened them before eating, laughing loudly and easily thanks to the eggnog. Everyone wore their paper crowns through dinner, the bright colors adding to the festive, lighthearted atmosphere.

And then, right before dessert, Shaun had gotten an email he couldn’t ignore. Another team was pinned down in Madrid, and he and Rebecca had to find reinforcements and try to hack Abstergo’s communications network. The mood changed immediately as Shaun and Rebecca removed their crowns and retreated to their workspaces, leaving [Y/N] and Desmond at the table. They rose, too, and began clearing the table—the party was definitely over.

“Thank, Des. It was fun while it lasted, anyway,” she said. “Want some dessert? I was thinking of bringing some to Shaun and Rebecca, too.”

“Yeah… I’ll definitely take some of those brownies.” Desmond put some brownies and a cookie on his plate and settled onto the couch in the living room.

She piled a short stack of cookies and a wall of brownies onto a plate for Rebecca and scurried to her desk.

“Hey, I brought you some dessert to help you focus.”

Rebecca brightened at the sight of the red and green-sprinkled cookies. “Hey, thanks! That was a lot of fun earlier. We’ll have to do it again.”

“Well, we have plenty of leftovers. We can try again tomorrow.” She sighed. “I’m sorry it ended like this. Let me know if you need anything else, okay? I want to help any way I can. In the meantime, I’m going to bring some dessert over to Shaun.”

Rebecca grinned. “ _Dessert_ , huh? Don’t let me keep you.” She winked and waggled her eyebrows. [Y/N] rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out before walking away.

She grabbed some cookies for Shaun and picked his crown up off the table before heading over to his workstation.

“You need to go to bed,” she said, “Or Santa won’t come.”

Shaun let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his eyes. “He’ll be waiting a while, then, because I’ll probably be up all night.” He spun around and noticed the plate. “What’s that?”

She smiled and handed it to him. “I thought you might like some dessert…” She hastily placed the paper crown on his head. “…and your crown. To keep your spirits up.”

He smirked, but she could see the gratitude in his eyes. He murmured his thanks and spun back around to face his desk, placing the plate next to his snow globe. He picked up a cookie and began munching on it.

She looked at the snow globe, flanked with her mistletoe, and opened her mouth to speak. She paused, unsure whether to continue, and then decided to press on. “I like your snow globe…”

Shaun’s posture stiffened slightly. “My dad gave it to me,” he began, his back still to her. “It’s one of the only things I have left from home… from before I joined the Brotherhood.”

She smiled sadly. She knew that Shaun’s sarcasm and abrasiveness were his armor and shield, but she hadn’t realized until recently how sentimental and thoughtful he actually was. They had _all_ made sacrifices, and though they weren’t as visible as a missing ring finger, in some ways they were just as painful. She thought of the memories Shaun had shared with her, of caroling and family dinners, and how much he clearly missed his family, and her heart broke a little.

“Oh, Shaun…” Without even realizing what she was doing, she threw her arms around his waist from behind, her face resting between his shoulders.

Shaun froze, dropping the cookie onto his desktop. She felt his body go rigid, and she quickly pulled back, mortified by what she’d done.

“Oh my God, I am so, so sorry.”

She started backing away as quickly as she could, but it felt like everything was happening in slow motion—no doubt to drag out her awkwardness and embarrassment for as long as possible. She managed to turn around and had taken a step toward her room when Shaun grabbed her wrist and tugged to make her face him.

“Wait,” he said. She looked up at him, her cheeks burning. His expression softened. “It’s fine. Really.” He cleared his throat. “I want to thank you, for everything you’ve done over the past few weeks. This is the best Christmas I’ve had in a few years…”

He trailed off and looked down at his hand, which he’d moved until he was holding onto hers. They made eye contact, and she giggled nervously. Her heart was pounding in her chest as Shaun pulled her into a hug.

“Thank you,” he said, his breath tickling her neck.

“Y—you’re welcome,” she stammered. She smiled and rested her head against his shoulder.

Shaun pulled back slightly, using his fingertips to gently tilt her head upward. He leaned in, hesitating slightly to gauge her reaction, and then closed the gap between them, pressing his lips to hers in a soft, chaste kiss. She let out a low, surprised sigh and leaned into the kiss, enjoying the warmth of Shaun’s body and the firm, gentle pressure of his lips against hers.

Shaun broke the kiss and gently nuzzled her cheek, making her giggle as his stubble grazed pleasantly against her skin. He kissed her again and then pulled back, producing the sprig of mistletoe from behind her head and grinning slyly.

“Merry Christmas, [Y/N],” he said, gently popping her on the nose with it.

She laughed, snatched it out of his hand, and pecked a quick kiss on his lips. 

“Merry Christmas, Shaun.”


End file.
